JP2002232576A - Communication controller and method, recording medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily hear utterance even when a plurality of users make utterance simultaneously. SOLUTION: A voice information recording section 23 records voice information sent from speech units 1A-1D and received by a reception section 21. A priority setting section 24 confirms an output time (generated period) of respective pieces of voice information and establishes the output priority of each voice information (utterance by a user) on speakers 3A-3D of the speech units 1A-1D by each voice information when discriminating the presence of temporal duplication in the pieces of voice information. An output voice information generating section 26 generates output voice information (information indicating deviated output timing of respective pieces of voice information (utterance)) and allows a transmission section 27 to output the output voice information so that the speakers 3A-3D start an output of 2nd voice information in a timing when the output of 1st voice information is finished on the basis of the priority established by the priority setting section 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication control apparatus and method, a recording medium, and a program, and more particularly, to a television conference system, in which a plurality of statements are easily heard even when a plurality of statements are duplicated. The present invention relates to a communication control device and method, a recording medium, and a program capable of performing comfortable communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of communication technology, there has been proposed a communication system in which three or more users who are at remote locations can simultaneously have a conversation. For example, a video conference can be held using such a call system.

[0003] The applicant of the present invention stores a conversation time between a given user and another user in order to make it easier to hear each of the utterances when the utterances of a plurality of users overlap in a video conference. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-49948 discloses that weighting is performed on the output of each sound based on the stored information and by controlling the volume, sounds other than the main sound are suppressed. .

[0004]

However, in the telephone system proposed above, the output volume of the pronunciation of another user to each user is controlled based on the past conversation time with each user. The voice from other users who did not have a conversation is suppressed. Therefore, when another user who has not frequently talked suddenly makes an important statement, there is a possibility that the user may miss the statement. In addition, although the volume of subordinate messages other than the main message is suppressed, such messages are always output, so that there is a problem that it is not possible to concentrate on the conversation with the user who is currently talking.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and when a plurality of users simultaneously speak, three or more people simultaneously speak by outputting at a time lag. This also enables comfortable communication.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A communication control device according to the present invention comprises a call information receiving means for receiving call information transmitted from a plurality of communication devices, and a call recording function for recording the call information received by the call information receiving means. The first call information is included in the call information recorded by the information recording means and the call information recording means, when there is a temporally overlapping portion between the first call information and the second call information. Priority setting means for setting the priority of the timing for outputting the second call information and the second call information, and the first call information and the second call information are temporally determined based on the priority set by the priority setting means. And a call information output means for outputting the information.

When the output of the first call information whose start timing is earlier in the occurrence period ends based on the priority order set by the priority order setting unit, the call information output unit ends the time period of the occurrence period. The output of the second call information whose start timing is later than the first call information can be started.

[0008] The priority order setting means can set the priority order based on the output history of the first call information and the second call information.

[0009] The priority setting means can set a higher priority to the call information from the communication device having a small number of past call information outputs based on the output history.

[0010] The priority setting means can set a higher priority to the call information from the communication device having a short total output time of the past call information based on the output history.

[0011] The priority order setting means can set a higher priority to the call information having a larger volume than the volume of the past call information based on the output history.

The communication control method of the communication control device according to the present invention comprises:
The call information receiving step of receiving the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices, the call information recording step of recording the call information received by the process of the call information receiving step, and the call information recording step In the call information, when there is a temporally overlapping portion in the generation period of the first call information and the second call information, the priority of the timing for outputting the first call information and the second call information And a call information output step of outputting the first call information and the second call information with a time lag based on the priority set by the processing of the priority setting step. It is characterized by including.

[0013] The program of the recording medium of the present invention comprises a call information receiving step of receiving call information transmitted from a plurality of communication devices, and a call information recording step of recording the call information received by the processing of the call information receiving step. And, of the call information recorded in the call information recording step, during the period of occurrence of the first call information and the second call information,
If there is a temporally overlapping portion, a priority setting step for setting the priority of the timing for outputting the first call information and the second call information, and a priority set by the processing of the priority setting step A call information output step of outputting the first call information and the second call information with a time lag based on the information.

[0014] The program of the present invention is stored in a computer.
The call information receiving step of receiving the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices, the call information recording step of recording the call information received by the process of the call information receiving step, and the call information recording step In the call information, when there is a temporally overlapping portion in the generation period of the first call information and the second call information, the priority of the timing for outputting the first call information and the second call information And a call information output step of outputting the first call information and the second call information with a time lag based on the priority set by the processing of the priority setting step. It is characterized by being executed.

[0015] In the communication control device and method, the recording medium, and the program of the present invention, call information transmitted from a plurality of communication devices is received, and the received call information is recorded. Then, among the recorded call information, the first
If there is a temporally overlapping part between the occurrence periods of the first call information and the second call information, the priority order for outputting the first call information and the second call information is set, and the set priority is set. Based on the priority, the first call information and the second call information are output staggered in time.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a communication system to which the present invention is applied. The detailed configuration of each device will be described later with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this communication system, it is necessary for users A to D to individually identify each of the prepared communication devices 1A to 1D (hereinafter, each of the communication devices 1A to 1D). If they do not exist, they will be collectively referred to as a telephone device 1. The same applies to other devices), and a telephone call can be made simultaneously through a network 5 such as a public line network. Can hold conference calls and the like. In addition, call equipment 1A
Is composed of an audio processing device 2A, a speaker 3A, and a microphone 4A. Similarly, the speech processing devices 2B to 2D and the speaker 3
B to 3D and microphones 4B to 4D.

The network 5 includes users A to D
, And a call control server 6 that distributes voice information output from the call device 1 to the network 5 to each call device 1 is connected.

The call control server 6, for example,
The time period during which the voice information of user A output on network 5 via A (voice period) and the time period of voice information of user B output on network 5 via telephone device 1B are generated. If there is an overlapped portion, the priority of the timing at which each voice information is output to each telephone device 1 is set, and the output timing of each voice information is controlled based on the priority.

For example, when the call control server 6 sets the priority of the voice information uttered by the user A to the first place and the priority of the voice information uttered by the user B to the second place, Then, the utterance (voice information) of the user A is output to each telephone device 1, and when the output of the utterance of the user A ends, the utterance of the user B is output to each telephone device 1. That is, the call control server 6 is provided with a storage unit for voice information (voice information recording unit 23 (see FIG. 2)), and the voice information is output with a time lag without duplication. Therefore, even when a plurality of users speak at the same time, it is possible to suppress the utterance of one user from being difficult to hear due to the utterance of another user, and to easily hear all the utterances of each user. be able to.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of a device constituting the communication system of FIG.

As described above, the communication device 1A includes the voice processing device 2A, the speaker 3A, and the microphone 4A. The audio processing device 2A further includes an audio information processing unit 11A, a transmission unit 12A, and a reception unit 13A inside.

The audio information processing section 11A subjects the audio signal of the user A inputted from the microphone 4A to amplification, analog-to-digital conversion processing, and the like.
Is generated. Also, the voice information processing unit 11A
Performs a predetermined process on the audio information A in accordance with the data transmission format of the network 5, and
To supply.

The audio information processing section 11A includes a receiving section 1
The signal that is received and supplied by the 3A and that is supplied with the audio information (output audio information generated by the call control server 6) is subjected to amplification, digital-analog conversion processing, and the like, and is output to the speaker 3A.

The transmitting section 12A transmits the voice information A supplied from the voice information processing section 11A to the call control server 6 via the network 5.

The receiving section 13A receives a signal composed of voice information transmitted from the call control server 6 via the network 5, and supplies the signal to the voice information processing section 11A.

The voice processing devices 2B to 2D of the telephone devices 1B to 1D provided for the users B to D, respectively, are similar to the voice processing device 2A of the telephone device 1A.
B to 11D, transmitting units 12B to 12D, and receiving unit 13
B to 13D.

The receiving unit 21 of the call control server 6 transmits the voice information A to D transmitted from the transmitting unit 12 of each call device 1.
It receives a signal (a signal including information designating the call control server 6 as a destination of information) composed of (the remarks of the users A to D) and supplies it to the voice information processing unit 22. The signals received by the receiving unit 21 include the telephone devices 1A to 1D.
Of these, address information indicating which of the telephone devices is transmitted is also included.

The audio information processing section 22 performs demodulation processing, analog-to-digital conversion processing, and the like on the signal supplied from the reception section 21 to acquire audio information A to D of users A to D, respectively. To the audio information recording unit 23.

The audio information recording unit 23 includes, for example, a recording medium such as a hard disk and its drive, and receives the audio information A supplied from the audio information processing unit 22 based on an instruction from the priority order setting unit 24. And D are recorded.

The priority setting unit 24 detects the timing of receiving the audio information A to D based on the notification from the receiving unit 21. In addition, the priority order setting unit 24 sets the reception period (user A
In the case where it is determined that there is a portion that overlaps in time during the period between the speeches of the speakers A through D, the priority of the timing at which the voice information (the speeches of the users A through D) is output to the speaker 3 of each telephone device 1 is output. Based on the output history information and the like stored in the history information storage unit 25, the setting is made for each received voice information. Then, the priority setting unit 24 notifies the output audio information generation unit 26 of the subsequent stage of the set priority, and reads out the audio information for which the priority is set from the audio information recording unit 23, and outputs the output audio information. To the unit 26.

The output audio information generating section 26 rearranges the audio information supplied from the priority setting section 24 based on the notified priority, and outputs the output audio information as audio information having no temporally overlapping portion. The information is generated, is set as information according to the transmission format of the network 5, and is supplied to the transmission unit 27.

The transmission unit 27 transmits the output audio information (information in which the audio information of the users A to D is rearranged) supplied from the output audio information generation unit 26 via the network 5.
It is transmitted to each telephone device 1.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The call control processing of the call control server 6 in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of audio information transmitted from the telephone device 1 and output audio information generated in the telephone control server 6, which will be referred to in the description of FIG.

In step S1, the priority setting unit 2
4 determines whether a signal including voice information has been transmitted from the telephone device 1 via the network 5 based on the notification from the receiving unit 21, and waits until it is determined that the signal has been transmitted.

The priority setting unit 24 determines in step S1
If it is determined that a signal including voice information has been transmitted from any of the telephone devices 1, the process proceeds to step S2, where the voice information processing unit 22 is controlled to acquire voice information. For example, the priority setting unit 24 determines in step S1 that the audio information A
If it is determined that a signal including the information is transmitted from the telephone device 1A, the process proceeds to step S2, where the voice information processing unit 22 is controlled, and the received signal is subjected to amplification and analog-to-digital conversion processing. (User A's remark) is acquired.

In step S3, the priority setting unit 2
Reference numeral 4 controls the audio information recording unit 23 to record the audio information acquired in step S2. In the case of the above-described example, the audio information recording unit 23 records the audio information A on the built-in hard disk based on the instruction from the priority order setting unit 24.

By the above processing, for example, the audio information A during the period from time t _A1 to time t _A2 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis is the time axis.

Then, the priority setting unit 24 sets the step
In S4, the priority of the timing at which the audio information recorded in the audio information recording unit 23 is output to the speaker 3 of the telephone device 1 is set. For example, as described above,
The voice information A for the period from t _{A1 to} t _A2 is recorded in the voice information recording unit 23, and is used for another call device (call device 1B to 1D).
From, if not transmitted audio information at the same time (for the period up to time t _A1 to t _D1 of FIG. 4), the priority setting unit 24, the voice information A, and audio information to be output to the highest priority, The priority is set as the first place.

The priority setting unit 24 determines in step S
In step 4, the set priority is notified to the output audio information generation unit 26, and the audio information with the set priority is read from the audio information recording unit 23 and supplied. Details of the priority setting process executed by the priority setting unit 24 will be described later with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5, 7, and 9.

In step S 5, the output audio information generation section 26 generates output audio information based on the priority notified from the priority setting section 24 and supplies the output audio information to the transmission section 27. If the priority of the audio information A is set as first in step S4 as in the example described above, the output audio information generation unit 26 outputs the audio information A as shown in the example of the output audio information in FIG. A is transmitted from the time t _out1 to the time t _{out1 to} t
Generate output audio information for the period of _out2 . As shown in FIG. 4, time t _out1 is time t _A1 and time t _out2 is time t _A2.
(Corresponding to the same time). Actually, a transmission delay occurs, but is ignored here.

The output voice information generation unit 26 determines in step S6
In step S5, the history of the output audio information generated in step S5 is registered in the output history information storage unit 25 as output history information. That is, the audio information generation unit 26 outputs the time t _{out1 to} t _out
During the period of _out2, the output history information storage unit 2 performs processing to output the voice information A to the speaker 3 of the telephone device 1.
Register to 5.

In step S7, the transmitting section 27 outputs the output voice information supplied from the output voice information generating section 26 to each of the telephone devices 1A to 1D via the network 5. Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG.
If A speaks at the timing from time t _{A1 to} t _A2 , time t
output sound information for a period of _out1 to t _out2 (time t _A1 to t _A2) is generated, the speaker 3A to 3D of the telephone communication apparatus 1A to 1D, is output as the user's utterance A.

In step S8, the priority setting unit 2
4 indicates that the voice information whose priority is set as the first priority is being output to the speaker 3 of the telephone device 1 (at time t).
the _out1 to period t _out2), and determines a signal including audio information from one of the telephone communication apparatus 1 whether or not sent,
If it is determined that it has been transmitted, the process returns to step S2,
The subsequent processing is repeatedly executed. That is, the priority order of the received audio information is set in step S4, and in step S5, the audio information to be output when the output of the audio information currently being output ends (as audio information waiting to be output). , Output audio information is generated.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a period (time t) when the audio information A is output to the speaker 3 of the telephone device 1
the _out1 to period t _out2), when a signal including audio information D of the period between times t _D1 to t _D2 is sent from the call device 1D, the priority setting unit 24, in step S4, the audio information D Set the priority as second. Then, when the output of the audio information A whose priority is set as the first priority is completed, the output audio information generation unit 26 outputs the audio information D.
Is generated so as to be output to the speaker 3 of the telephone device 1. That is, the time t _D1
The voice information D uttered by the user D is controlled so as to be output from the speaker 3 of each telephone device 1 at the timing of the time t _out2 , which is later than the time t _D1 .

On the other hand, in step S8, if the priority setting section 24 determines that no signal including voice information has been transmitted from the telephone device 1, the process proceeds to step S9, where the priority is set as the first priority. It is determined whether or not the output of the audio information has been completed.

The priority setting unit 24 determines in step S9
If it is determined that the output of the audio information whose priority is set as the first rank is not completed, the process returns to step S7,
The output of the audio information set as the first priority is continued, and the subsequent processing is repeatedly executed.

Further, the priority setting unit 24 determines in step S
In step S10, when it is determined that the output of the audio information whose priority order is set as the first is completed.
Then, it is determined whether or not there is audio information waiting to be output whose priority order is set as second or higher, and if it is determined that it exists, the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the priority setting section 24 increments the priority of the audio information set as the second or higher priority by one, returns to step S7, and sets the priority to first. The generated output audio information is output so that the newly set audio information is output to the speaker 3 of each telephone device 1.

On the other hand, the priority setting unit 24 determines in step S
If it is determined in step 10 that there is no audio information waiting to be output with the priority set as second or higher,
Returning to S1, the subsequent processing is repeatedly executed.

By the above processing, as shown in FIG.
The utterance of the user A input to the microphone 4A from time t _{A1 to} time t _A2 is from time t _{out1 to} time t _out2 (time t _{A1 to} time t _A2 ).
Is output to the speakers 3A to 3D at the timing of
The user's utterance D input to the microphone 4D at _D1 or t _D2, the time t _out2 through the speaker 3 at timing t _out3
Output to A to 3D. Similarly, from time t _{C1 to} time t _C2
The _message of the user C input to the microphone 4C at time t _{out3 to} time t _out4 is output to the speakers 3A to 3D at times t _{out3 to} t _out4 , and the comment of the user B input to the microphone 4B at time t _{B1 to} time t _B2 is The _signals are output to the speakers 3A to 3D at timings t _out4 to t _out5 .

As described above, when the speech periods from a plurality of users overlap, the priorities are set, and the respective speeches are shifted and output based on the priorities. However, each user can easily hear the comment.

Further, in the above description, the voice information is transmitted from the telephone device 1 to the telephone control server 6 and is output from the speaker 3 at a shifted timing based on the priority. D to D can also be applied to a telephone-equipped telephone communication system (video conference system) in which a user can have a conversation while confirming faces. in this case,
Image information captured by a camera provided in each of the call devices 1 is supplied to the call control server 6 via the network 5 together with the call information. Call control server 6
Records the audio information in the audio information recording unit 23 and also records the image information in the built-in recording unit. The timing at which the audio information is output to the speaker 3 and the image information are provided in the telephone device 1. Output audio / image information is generated based on the priority order and transmitted to the telephone device 1 so that the timings displayed on the monitor match.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The priority setting process executed by the priority setting unit 24 in step S4 of FIG. 3 will be described. Also,
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of the audio information and the output audio information generated thereby, which will be referred to as needed in the description of FIG.

In step S21, based on the notification from the receiving unit 21, the priority order setting unit 24 determines whether or not voice information has been simultaneously transmitted from a plurality of telephone devices 1 (simultaneously speaking out of the users A to D). Whether or not someone has done it)
Is determined.

The priority setting unit 24 determines in step S21
When it is determined that the voice information is not transmitted from the plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time, the process proceeds to step S22, and the priority of the transmitted voice information is set as the priority following the already set priority. (As the lowest priority, including the priorities already set).

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when voice information A is received at the timing of time t _A11 (when voice information is not transmitted from a plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time), priority of voice information A is given. The ranking is set as the first place.
Thereafter, as described above, in step S5 of FIG. 3, output voice information is generated, and the utterance of the user A is output to the speaker 3 of each telephone device 1 at the time t _out11 (time t _A11 ). As shown in FIG. 6, when the user B speaks and the voice information B is received while the voice information A whose priority is set as the first priority is output, the priority setting unit 24 Sets the priority of the audio information B as the second priority and sets the audio information B as the audio information waiting to be output. As described above, when the voice information is not transmitted from the plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time, a higher priority is set in the order of the transmitted voice information.

On the other hand, in step S21, based on the notification from the receiving unit 21, the priority setting unit 24 determines that voice information has been transmitted from a plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time (when a plurality of users If you speak),
Proceed to step S23.

The priority setting unit 24 proceeds to step S23
The output stored in the output history information storage unit 25
Based on the history information,
Set higher priority. For example, as shown in FIG.
At the same time (time t_A13(Time t_C11))
, The priority setting unit 24 outputs the output history information.
The voice information A uttered by the user A based on the
Is output once, whereas the voice information C of the user C is output.
Has not been output yet, so time t_A13To t_A14
Higher priority than the priority of audio information A during the period
Time t_C11To t _C12Set to audio information C of.

That is, at time t _A13 , the audio information
Since the priority of B is set as the first place and output, the priority of the audio information C is set as the second and the time t
Priority of voice information A of _A13 to period t _A14 is set as the third. Thus, when the output of the audio information B is completed (time t _out13 ), the audio information C during the period from time t _{C11 to} time t _C12 is output to the speaker 3, and when the output is completed (time t _out14 ), Audio information A in the period from t _{A13 to} t _A14
Is output. In FIG. 6, the time
When the output of the audio information A in the period from t _{A13 to} t _A14 ends (time t _out15 ), the audio information D is output.

Returning to the description of FIG. 5, step S22 or S22
After the process of step S23 is performed, the process proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, the priority order setting unit 24 notifies the output sound information generation unit 26 of the subsequent stage of the priority order set in step S22 or S23.
The audio information for which the priority is set is read out from the audio information recording unit 23 and supplied to the output audio information generation unit 26. After that, the processing after step S5 in FIG. 3 is executed.

As described above, by giving priority to the message from the user with the smaller number of words, all the users can speak equally.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
Another priority setting process executed by the priority setting unit 24 in step S4 of FIG. 3 will be described.

The processing in steps S31 and S32 is the same as that in FIG.
Is the same as the processing of steps S21 and S22 described with reference to FIG. That is, the priority order setting unit 24
In step S31, based on the notification from the receiving unit 21, it is determined whether or not voice information has been transmitted from the plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time. If it is determined that voice information has not been transmitted simultaneously, The priority of the information is set as a priority following the already set priority.

On the other hand, if the priority setting section 24 determines in step S31 that voice information has been transmitted from a plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time, the process proceeds to step S33.

In step S33, the priority order setting section 24 reads out the output history information stored in the output history information storage section 25 and, based on the read out history information, ranks higher in the past utterances in ascending order of the total utterance time. Set the priority of

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing still another example of the voice information transmitted from the telephone device 1 and the output voice information generated by the telephone control server 6.

In FIG. 8, the timing of the utterance of the user B and the utterance of the user C are simultaneous (time t _B23 (time t _B23 ).
t _C23 )), and in this case, the priority setting unit 24
Reads the output history information of the user B and the user C from the output history information storage unit 25 in step S33, and compares the total time of each utterance. In this example,
Users B and C, the audio information B period state (time t _B21 to t _B22 that increments speak once in the past, and the time t
There is a voice information C) for a period of _C21 to t _C22, but the time
towards the duration of t _{B 21} to t _B22 is longer than the period of time t _C21 to t _C22, priority setting unit 24, the time t _C23 to t _C24
The voice information C period, than the voice information B period between times t _B23 to t _B24, sets a higher level priority.

Then, in step S34, the set priority is notified to the output voice information generating unit 26, and the voice information for which the priority is set is supplied. Thereby, in step S5 of FIG. 3, output audio information as shown in FIG. 8 is generated.

It should be noted that the total output time is
A higher priority may be set.

In the above description, the priority is set based on the past output count or the total of the past output time. However, the priority is set based on the characteristics of the received voice information. It may be.

Next, in such a case, the step shown in FIG.
Still another priority setting process executed by the priority setting unit 24 in S4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

The processing in steps S41 and S42 is the same as that in FIG.
The processing is similar to the processing of steps S21 and S22 described with reference to FIG. 7 and the processing of steps S31 and S32 described with reference to FIG. It is determined whether or not the voice information has been transmitted simultaneously from the telephone device 1 of the communication device 1. If it is determined that the voice information has not been transmitted simultaneously, in step S42, the priority of the voice information is changed to the already set priority. Set as the following priority.

In step S41, if the priority setting unit 24 determines that voice information has been transmitted from a plurality of telephone devices 1 at the same time, the process proceeds to step S43.

The priority setting unit 24 determines in step S43
Then, the output history information stored in the output history information storage unit 25 is read, and the volume of the audio information received this time is:
Higher priorities are set in the order in which they are larger than the average volume of past audio information.

For example, as shown in FIG.
And the timing of user C's utterance at the same time (time t
_B23 (time t _C23 )), the priority setting unit 24
, At step S43, compares the average of the volume of the sound information B period between times t _B21 to t _B22 by the user B, the period of time t _B23 to t _B24 the average volume of the sound information B. Further, priority setting unit 24 compares the average volume of the audio information C for the period of time t _C21 to t _C22 user C, for a period of time t _C23 to t _C24 average volume of the audio information C, A higher priority is set to the voice information in which the volume of the current voice information is much higher than the average volume of the past voice information. For example, the average of the volume of the sound information B between times t _B23 to t _B24, the difference between the average of the volume of the sound information B between times t _B21 to t _B22 is, the period from time t _C23 to t _C24 is greater than the difference between the average volume of the audio information C of the average period of volume and time t _C21 to t _C22 audio information C, the priority of the upper is set in the voice information B.

The priority set in step S43,
The audio information is supplied to the output audio information generation unit 26 in step S44.

Generally, a speech with a higher importance is uttered in a loud voice, so that the above-described processing allows a more important speech to be heard first, and a telephone conference or the like to proceed more smoothly. it can.

As described above, the priority order can be set based on various information. For example, the received voice information may be frequency-analyzed, and a comment from a woman may be output prior to a comment from a man. Alternatively, the users A to D may discuss in advance and set the priority of each statement by themselves.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. In this case, for example, the call control server 6 is configured by a personal computer 41 as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 10, a CPU (Central Processin
g Unit) 51 is a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 52 or a RAM (R
and various kinds of processing are executed in accordance with the program loaded into the andomAccess Memory (53). The RAM 53 also has a CPU 51
For example, data necessary for executing various processes is stored as appropriate.

The CPU 51, the ROM 52, and the RAM 53 are interconnected via a bus 54. The bus 54 is also connected to an input / output interface 55.

An input / output interface 55 includes an input unit 56 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a CRT (Cathode Ray
Tube), a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an output unit 57 such as a speaker, a storage unit 58 such as a hard disk, a modem,
A communication unit 59 composed of a terminal adapter or the like is connected. The communication unit 59 performs a communication process via the network 5.

A drive 60 is connected to the input / output interface 55 as necessary.
An optical disk 62, a magneto-optical disk 63, a semiconductor memory 64, or the like is appropriately mounted, and a computer program read therefrom is installed in the storage unit 58 as needed.

When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware, or various programs are installed to install various functions. Is installed from, for example, a network or a recording medium in a general-purpose personal computer or the like that can execute the program.

As shown in FIG. 10, the recording medium is a magnetic disk 61 (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded, which is distributed in order to provide the program to the user separately from the apparatus main body, and an optical disk. 62 (CD
-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital V
ersatile Disk), magneto-optical disk 63 (MD (Min
i-Disk), or package media consisting of semiconductor memory 64, etc.
A ROM 52 storing a program, which is provided to a user in a state where it is previously installed in the apparatus main body, and a storage unit 5
8 and the like.

In this specification, the steps for describing the program recorded on the recording medium are not limited to the processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but are not necessarily performed in chronological order. Alternatively, it also includes individually executed processing.

Also, in this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0090]

According to the communication control apparatus and method, the recording medium, and the program of the present invention, call information transmitted from a plurality of communication apparatuses is received, and the received call information is recorded. If there is a temporally overlapping portion of the recorded call information during the period in which the first call information and the second call information occur, the first call information and the second call information are output. The priority order of the timing is set, and the first call information and the second call information are output with a time lag based on the set priority order. Therefore, when a plurality of users speak simultaneously. However, it is possible to easily hear each comment, and to achieve comfortable communication.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a concept of a telephone communication system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of each device of the communication system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a call control server in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing examples of audio information and output audio information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a priority order setting unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of audio information and output audio information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating another process of the priority order setting unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing still another example of audio information and output audio information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating still another process of the priority order setting unit in FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a personal computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

6 call control server, 21 receiving section, 22 voice information processing section, 23 voice information recording section, 24 priority order setting section, 25 output history information storage section, 26 output voice information generating section, 27 transmitting section, 51 CPU, 52 R
OM, 53RAM, 54 bus, 55 input / output interface, 56 input unit, 57 output unit, 58 storage unit, 59 communication unit, 60 drive, 61 magnetic disk, 62 optical disk, 63 magneto-optical disk, 64 semiconductor memory

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A communication control device for controlling distribution of call information transmitted and received by a plurality of communication devices via a network, wherein: a call information receiving means for receiving the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices; Call information recording means for recording the call information received by the call information receiving means; and a period of occurrence of first call information and second call information among the call information recorded by the call information recording means. To
In the case where there is a temporally overlapping portion, priority setting means for setting the priority of the timing for outputting the first call information and the second call information, and the priority set by the priority setting means A communication control device, comprising: call information output means for outputting the first call information and the second call information with a time lag based on priority. 2. The output of the first call information having an earlier start timing in the occurrence period is terminated based on the priority set by the priority setting means. 2. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the output of the second call information, which is started later in the occurrence period, is later than the first call information. 3. The communication according to claim 1, wherein the priority setting unit sets the priority based on an output history of the first call information and the second call information. Control device. 4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the priority setting unit sets a higher priority to the call information from the communication device having a small number of past output of the call information based on the output history. The communication control device according to claim 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the priority setting unit sets a higher priority to the call information from the communication device having a short total output time of the past call information based on the output history. The communication control device according to claim 3, wherein: 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said priority order setting means sets a higher priority to said call information having a larger volume than a volume of said past call information based on said output history. The communication control device according to claim 1. 7. A communication control method of a communication control device for controlling distribution of call information transmitted and received by a plurality of communication devices via a network, wherein the call information receives the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices. A receiving step, a call information recording step of recording the call information received by the processing of the call information receiving step, and a first call information among the call information recorded by the processing of the call information recording step. A priority setting step of setting a priority of a timing at which the first call information and the second call information are output, in a case where a temporally overlapping portion exists in an occurrence period of the second call information; Based on the priority set by the processing of the priority setting step, the first call information and the second call information are temporally shifted. A communication control method characterized by including the call information output step of and output. 8. A recording medium of a communication control device for controlling distribution of call information transmitted and received by a plurality of communication devices via a network, wherein a call information reception for receiving the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices. A call information recording step of recording the call information received by the processing of the call information receiving step; a first call information and a second call information among the call information recorded by the processing of the call information recording step. A priority setting step of setting a priority of a timing at which the first call information and the second call information are output, when there is a temporally overlapping portion in the occurrence period of the second call information; The first call information and the second call information are temporally shifted based on the priority set in the priority setting step. Recording medium readable program computer; and a call information output step of outputting is recorded. 9. A communication control device for controlling distribution of call information transmitted and received by a plurality of communication devices via a network, comprising: a computer receiving a call information receiving the call information transmitted from the plurality of communication devices; A call information recording step of recording the call information received by the processing of the call information receiving step; a first call information and a second call information among the call information recorded by the processing of the call information recording step. A priority setting step of setting a priority of a timing at which the first call information and the second call information are output, when there is a temporally overlapping portion in the occurrence period of the second call information; Based on the priority set by the priority setting step, the first call information and the second call information are temporally Program for executing the call information output step of outputting Rashi.